A year after rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar made its US Broadway debut in 1971, the Australian theatre production hit the stages and an Australian Cast album was in the record shops. Jesus Christ Superstar was created by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1970.
Let’s look at the various Australian productions over the past 50 years of Jesus Christ Superstar …
1972 – 1974 Jesus Christ Superstar
The first Aussie musical theatre production starred Trevor White as Jesus, Jon English as Judas Iscariot, and Michele Fawdon as Mary Magdalene. In the summer of 1973, Marcia Hines took over the role of Mary and Doug Parkinson replaced Reg Livermore in the role of King Herod.
Marcia Hines as Mary Magdalene & Trevor White as Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ Superstar, St George Leagues Club 1982 All rights reserved © Mark Anning photos 1982
Other cast members included Stevie Wright as Simon Zealotes, John Paul Young as Annas, and Rory O’Donohue as Peter. Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock, who met during the production, subsequently formed the band Air Supply.
This Harry M Miller production, directed by Jim Sharman, ran from May 1972 to February 1974 with more than 700 performances in Sydney’s Capitol Theatre and a season at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne, plus a tour of other cities and towns.
Miller had produced Hair in 1969, also directed by Jim Sharman. The duo went on to produce the Australian productions of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1972 and The Rocky Horror Show in 1974, all of which used many of the same production staff.
One of Jim Sharman’s most frequent creative collaborators was production designer Brian Thomson, a partnership that began at the Old Tote and continued through their ground-breaking and widely praised stage productions, the rock musicals Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Rocky Horror Show, and the films Shirley Thompson vs. the Aliens, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Sharman co-wrote the screenplay with actor Richard O’Brien who wrote the original music, lyrics and book), and a Rocky Horror spin-off called Shock Treatment.
Harry M. Miller invited Frederick J. Gibson to become his joint Managing Director and principal executive producer for the Australian productions of Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Rocky Horror Show, and many more. Gibson then managed the new Theatre Royal, which opened in January 1976 in the MLC Centre, Sydney.
Australian Jim Sharman also directed the UK production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palace Theatre in London in 1972, starring Paul Nicholas as Jesus, Stephen Tate as Judas and Dana Gillespie as Mary Magdalene.
Trevor White, Marcia Hines & Jesus Christ Superstar cast
All rights reserved © Mark Anning photos 1982
Trevor White
Trevor White’s musical career started as the vocalist with British instrumental pop/rock group Sound Inc., who recorded extensively in the 1960s, and had, prior to White joining the band, toured with the Beatles and played on their album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Sounds Inc finally broke up in 1971 while on tour in Perth.
Trevor White was preparing to return to the UK when he auditioned for Jesus Christ Superstar. White secured the role of Jesus, relocated to Australia permanently and sang on the original cast recording of the album.
Marcia Hines
Marcia Hines was discovered by Australian entrepreneur Harry M. Miller and director Jim Sharman who were visiting the U.S. to audition African-American singers for the new season of the Australian stage production of Hair, which had already premiered in Sydney on 6 June, 1969.
Marcia was just 16 at the time so Miller was made her legal guardian so she could travel to Australia. When she joined the cast in April 1970, Marcia was unaware that she was already pregnant with her daughter, Deni Hines, who was born during the run of Hair on 4 September 1970. Nine days later, Hines returned to the stage to continue her role.
The Australian crowds loved Marcia Hines in ‘Hair’ so Harry M Miller asked her to play Mary Magdalene in their production of Jesus Christ Superstar, taking over from Michele Fawdon in 1973. The role made a star of Marcia Hines and she has called Australia home ever since.
Marcia became one of Australia’s most successful female recording artists during the 1970s, and was crowned “Queen of Pop” three years running, 1976-78. Marcia Hines became an Australian citizen in 1994, was inducted into the prestigious ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007, and in 2009 Marcia Hines was appointed as Member, Order of Australia.
Trevor White & Marcia Hines … Doug Parkinson & Trevor White
All rights reserved © Mark Anning photos 1982
1982 – 1984 Jesus Christ Superstar
From 1982 to 1984, a new Australian production directed by Trevor White toured the Australian club circuit, before the final shows in Hong Kong and Singapore. Trevor White and Marcia Hines resumed their roles as Jesus and Mary, while Doug Parkinson performed a brilliant Judas.
The production opened at St George Leagues Club in southern Sydney – the photos on this page are at the Leagues Club.
Doug Parkinson, King Herod became Judas
In late 1973 Doug Parkinson replaced Reg Livermore in the role of King Herod in the first Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Livermore went on to huge acclaim as Frank N Furter in both the 1974 and 1984 productions of The Rocky Horror Show, and in 1975 in his first one-man show, Betty Blokk-buster Follies.
Coming into the role of Judas Iscariot in 1982, Doug Parkinson had some big shoes to fill. Jon English went from a virtual unknown to national prominence with his lively stage performances in the 1972 production, which was broadcast on television and a best selling album released from the Australian cast. Jon English had made his name as Judas.
Doug Parkinson came from a rock music background, had considerable charisma with his imposing stage presence and his gruff, raspy voice was made for the role of Judas. In fact, it may be hard to imagine Doug as the comical, flamboyant decadent bisexual singing King Herod’s Song but he obviously impressed the audiences and producers to be invited back for the 1982 production.
In March 1973, he made his stage debut as the Hawker in the Australian concert production of The Who’s rock opera Tommy alongside Billy Thorpe, Daryl Braithwaite, Colleen Hewett, Broderick Smith, Jim Keays and Keith Moon.
In March ’83 Doug released his second solo album Heartbeat to Heartbeat, and later in the year he took the starring role of Judas in the revived stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar. The production toured Australia for twelve months to great acclaim, before final performances in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Prior to his stage career, Doug’s band ‘The Questions‘ and Billy Thorpe supported international visitors, the Who, Small Faces and Paul Jones, on their Australian Big Show Tour for Lee Gordon in 1968. Doug Parkinson’s next band, ‘Doug Parkinson in Focus‘ has success in 1969 with a cover version of the Beatles’ track, “Dear Prudence” and that year they won the hugely popular talent quest Hoadley’s Battle of the Sounds.
1992 Jesus Christ Superstar
In 1992 the next Australian professional production of Jesus Christ Superstar toured Australia with John Farnham as Jesus, Jon Stevens as Judas, Kate Ceberano playing Mary Magdalene, John Waters as Pontius Pilate, Angry Anderson as King Herod, Russell Morris as Simon Zealotes, and Caiaphas was played by David Gould.
Harry M Miller came out of forced retirement after the Computicket collapse to produce Jesus Christ Superstar again. Miller engaged well known Sydney director Richard Wherrett – the founding director of the Sydney Theatre Company and their Artistic Director from 1979 to 1990 – to put together a theatre spectacular with the latest in stage technology and lighting.
Frederick Gibson was again involved as a freelance theatre consultant. This production ran for 84 nights to almost a million people taking $40m at the box office.
2013 Jesus Christ Superstar: Live Arena Tour
For the 2013 arena extravaganza, the role of Jesus was selected though a primetime ITV talent show called Superstar … Ben Forster won and became Jesus. Former Spice Girl Melanie C was Mary Magdalene, Tim Minchin was Judas.
Jon Stevens returned but this time as Pontius Pilate. Stevens played Judas in the 1992 Australian arena tour and the 1994 theatre production and was the frontman for INXS from 2000–04 and the lead singer of Noiseworks. Johnny O’Keefe‘s nephew and a popular TV presenter, Andrew O’Keefe played King Herod.
The 2013 international tour opened in Perth Australia which again set the standard for utilising the latest technology in staging and lighting.
Who wrote Jesus Christ Superstar?
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber were not the first to combine the stage musical form with songs written in the rock genre. Two American musicals premiered in 1968: ‘Your Own Thing‘, a rock musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is now all but forgotten; and Hair, which was first staged in October 1967 and started its successful Broadway run in April 1968.
The concept of a rock musical with no recitative or spoken links, telling the story solely in the lyrics of songs, had recently been pioneered by The Who in their groundbreaking work Tommy. Written in 1968 and recorded in 1969, Tommy was the first musical to be described as “rock opera”.
Jesus Christ Superstar or Jesus Christ Superstar – Original Australian Cast Recording is an album released in late 1972 on MCA Records.
The relationship between musical composer and libretto (or lyricist) is obviously important and has produced other famous 20th century collaborations, as with Gilbert and Sullivan, or Rodgers and Hammerstein; and Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.
The Lord Lloyd Webber
The Lord Lloyd Webber, formerly known as Andrew Lloyd Webber, has won an Emmy, four Grammys, multiple Tonys and an Oscar during his long and distinguished theatre career.
Theatre credits and musical compositions: The Likes of Us (1965), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1968), Jesus Christ Superstar (1970), Jeeves (1975), Evita (1976), Tell Me on a Sunday (1979), Cats (1981), Song and Dance (1982), Starlight Express (1984), Cricket (1986), The Phantom of the Opera (1986), Aspects of Love (1989), Sunset Boulevard (1993), Whistle Down the Wind (1996), The Beautiful Game (2000), The Boys in the Photograph (2009), The Woman in White (2004), The Wizard of Oz (2011), Stephen Ward (2013), School of Rock (2015)
Lord Lloyd-Webber has retired from the House of Lords where he sat as a Conservative from 18 February 1997 – 17 October 2017. In 2021, he told Good Morning Britain that he would never vote for the Conservatives again, due to their poor treatment of the arts sector.
Sir Tim Rice
Sir Tim Rice is best known for his collaborations as lyricist with composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. The pair wrote: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cricket, The Likes Of Us, and The Wizard of Oz.
Sir Tim also worked with Disney on Aladdin, The Lion King (music by Elton John), the stage adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, and the original Broadway musical Aida (with Elton John); and with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA, co-writing Chess. He also wrote lyrics for the Alan Menken musical King David, and for DreamWorks Animation’s The Road to El Dorado.
Rice was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music in 1994. In 2007 Sir Tim Rice said that his relationship with the Conservative Party had “irrevocably changed.”
Jesus Christ Superstar songs & instrumental numbers were:
| Act One Overture Heaven on Their Minds What’s the Buzz/Strange Thing, Mystifying Everything’s Alright This Jesus Must Die Hosanna Simon Zealotes/Poor Jerusalem Pilate’s Dream The Temple Everything’s Alright (Reprise) I Don’t Know How to Love Him Damned for All Time / Blood Money | Act Two The Last Supper Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say) The Arrest Peter’s Denial Pilate and Christ King Herod’s Song Could We Start Again Please? Judas’ Death Trial Before Pilate Superstar The Crucifixion John Nineteen: Forty-One |
A film was made of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1973 and a second film adaptation released in 2000.
Photographer’s Notes
In the days before I realised there was a union, I carried a camera, a journalist’s notepad and and advertising sales book for the St George Leader, doing their fashion & entertainment pages.
Signing up the Leagues Club to advertise in the Leader to promote this show caused a bit of a stir because, unknown to me, there was a feud between the two St Georges. The club hadn’t advertised in the newspaper and the newspaper hadn’t reported on the club’s news for years.
I had inadvertently resolved their issues.
Theatre production shots such as these were all done without a flash on the camera – so as to not annoy the crew and allow the staging lights to dominate. Black and white film was Kodak Tri-X 400 ASA pushed one stop to give 800 ASA. Colour film was Ektachrome 400 ASA.
Trevor White as Jesus Christ, Marcia Hines as Mary Magdalene, Doug Parkinson as Judas in 1982, St George Leagues Club. All rights reserved © Mark Anning photos 1982
Popular Music:
- Jesus Christ Superstar (Original London Concept Recording) [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] — Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice; Audio CD
- Jesus Christ Superstar: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [SOUNDTRACK] — Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice; Audio CD
- Jesus Christ Superstar (The New Stage Production Soundtrack) [CAST RECORDING] — Andrew Lloyd Webber (Composer), et al; Audio CD
DVD:
- Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) — Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson (II); DVD Keep Case
- Jesus Christ Superstar (2001) — Glenn Carter (III), Jérôme Pradon; DVD Keep Case
- The Andrew Lloyd Webber Spotlight Performance Collection (Cats, Royal Albert Hall Celebration, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar) — Andrew Lloyd Webber, Andrew Webber; DVD Keep Case
Video:
- Jesus Christ Superstar (2001) — Glenn Carter, Jerome Pradon; VHS English
- Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) — Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson (II); VHS English
- The Andrew Lloyd Webber Spotlight Performance Collection (Cats, Royal Albert Hall Celebration, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar) — Andrew Lloyd Webber, Andrew Webber; VHS English
Books:
- Jesus Christ Superstar — Paperback
